When you meet Meaghan, it’s impossible not to smile.
There’s something about her nature that combines a womanly depth and maturity, with an ineffable love of life and an unburdened expression of that love. Her joy knows no boundaries.
Meaghan has an intellectual disability and is non-verbal. She is also a trainee at the Sunshine Coast’s Compass Institute: an award-winning organisation that provides support, education and training for people living with a disability.
Compass supports more than 160 trainees (people with disability) across multiple sites, from Caboolture through to Gympie, at learning and development centres, along with multiple social enterprises, including an eight-hectare farm, cafes and art and gift shops.
This year marks two decades since Compass launched. The 20-year celebration will be marked by many awareness-raising initiatives, including a new campaign and photo exhibition called See the Able, Not the Label.
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There is no mistaking that Meaghan is more than ‘a label’. She has a zest for life and is a woman of strength, courage and beauty. No label will define her.
Her parents Ian and Merryl said that Meaghan has always had this larger-than-life quality about her.
It is a quality that had improved their own lives and forced them to step outside their comfort zones.
“We lived overseas for a time in Malaysia,” Merryl said.
“I would be embarrassed so much of the time because Meaghan would just smile at someone who didn’t speak any English. And then she’d motion for them to come over but couldn’t talk, of course.
“So, she’d expect me to. It meant we actually had to make new friends, ourselves, which isn’t always easy for us.
“Because Meaghan is Meaghan, she’s happy and just beckons people all the time.
“She has taught us so much and opened us up as people. Her naivety and her innocence remind us all the time of what life is really about.”
For Meaghan, life is about growth, learning and enjoying the things she loves – her family, dancing, playing bocce and her work with Compass.
“We moved to Caloundra and met someone else going to Compass Caloundra, so decided to try it,” Merryl said.
“We’ve stayed all of this time because Meaghan is very fulfilled and her goals and needs are being met.
“We love that she can do so many different things at Compass and that she also has a lot of things in common with others.”
Through her time at Compass, Meaghan has become more independent.
She now lives in supported, independent living accommodation. Her daily living skills have improved, including communication, cooking, social adeptness, personal grooming and being able to plan ahead for the different activities she participates in.
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“She’s a person in her own right,” Ian said.
“We all have to learn that we’re all different and that’s okay.
“Over the years, people have hidden their disabled kids. With us, she’s always been at the front and we’ve encouraged it.
“She’s different, but then again, aren’t we all?”
Meaghan wants the world to know that she feels proud – it is the button she presses most on her communication device out of any others.
Compass Institute CEO David Dangerfield said the organisation is privileged to know and work alongside the likes of Meaghan.
But he said there was a long way to go in terms of community understanding and attitudes towards the disability sector.
This is why education campaigns and events led by organisations such as Compass, as well as global campaigns including World Autism and Understanding Day, acknowledged recently on April 2, are vital.
“While I would love to say that there has been a massive shift in philosophy and practice across Australia in the past 20 years, that would be untrue,” Mr Dangerfield said.
“After a stint overseas studying and working in the disability sector, I returned to Australia in 1984 and was horrified at the treatment and perception of people with disabilities … particularly those with an intellectual impairment.
“We continue to talk about disability as a ‘catch-all’ category, when in truth there are many types of disability.
“So, naturally, the barriers are varied and addressing those requires varied approaches.”
He said there remains, even at a policy level, an implicit and unchallenged perception that disability equals liability and that liability equals a welfare solution.
“The huge point of difference for Compass is, we take an asset-based approach that immediately prompts the question: ‘How do you unlock human assets?’.
“The answer is the same path you and I enjoy – having our basic wellbeing needs met, followed by further learning, skills-based training, vocational opportunities and meaningful community participation.
“My aim is that Compass can serve as a major influencer of policy and an inspiration to ensure we move as a nation to a place where we aren’t having conversations at any level about the need for inclusivity.
“In my humble opinion, people with an intellectual impairment have a gift and it’s one the world has begun, through COVID, to see we need to value much more highly.
“The gift is a default to being loving, kind, non-judgmental, grateful, present in the moment and open to humanity. That’s a gift we can all share in and learn from.”
Visit compassinc.org.au.
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